Thank You
by Anime-Yasha
Summary: Angsty ShikaXIno oneshot, character death. Aoi


The One She Loved, The One She Hated, The One She Died For

By: Aoi, with help from Gin

Disclaimer: Grow up

Summary: Angsty ShikaXIno one-shot, character death. Aoi

A/N:

Aoi: Happy Valentine's Day, even though i'm 41 min. late!

CG: Retard...

CV and Gin: Smacks CG BE NICE!

Aoi: -.-u The song I used is Thank You by Dido

CV 'n' Gin: SHE DON'T FLIPPIN' OWN IT!

* * *

"Shikamaru! Look out!" Ino screamed as a kunai came hurling towards her long-time friend. He dodged it just in time.

"Shika! Pay attention!" she called out. They were on what was supposed to be a B-ranked mission, but then they were ambushed on their way back to Konoha. The level was now at least A.

"Whatever," he replied. Even he was having trouble. He couldn't think of a way to pull out of this one.

"Ino, Choji…let's pull back!" he shouted.

He was greeted with two "Hai!"

"S-Shika-kun," Ino began. "W-What happened to your side?"

He looked down. Blood was gushing out from a large wound in his side. How could he not notice? The pain finally burst through his body. He fell to the ground.

"Shika!" he heard Ino call out right before he lost consciousness.

"Shhhhh! He's waking up!" someone whispered.

"Shika-kun?" he heard Ino whisper.

He groaned and opened his eyes. What happened?" he asked, trying to sit up.

"Shika-kun!" Ino squealed as she hugged him.

"Owww…. Ino! Let go!" he hissed.

"Wow, Shikamaru. You had us worried," Said Choji. He didn't have his usual bag of chips.

"What happened?" Shika repeated.

"We were ambushed on a mission, and you got hurt," Ino said, trailing off.

One of the nurses came in. "Asuma-san," She said quietly. "May I please speak to you?"

"Yes," He replied.

"Well, Nara-san… I-I'm afraid, he wont make it."  
"What?" Asuma gasped.

"The wound was infected with a strange kind of poison. No one can figure out what it is."  
He frowned, and held back tears. "H-How long does he have?"

"Not very long. An hour at the most," the nurse replied.

"Ok, thank you," the nurse turned to leave. "Wait!" Asuma began. "Don't tell them."

The nurse smiled and nodded.

"What did they say, Choji?" asked Shikamaru. Choji was pale, and looked like he was going to cry. He walked back from the door Asuma had left from.

"S-Shikamaru…" he began to shake. "Y-You're going to die." It was barely above a whisper.

Ino, who had only recently calmed down, began to cry, no not cry, sob. They both hated seeing her like this. She was in hysterics, and it was all his fault.

'_I shouldn't have been so careless!' _he thought angrily.

"I-Ino, calm down," he mumbled. "I-It's not that big of a deal."

"W-What do you m-mean!" Ino practically screamed. "You're dieing! You should care a little more!"

"I'm sorry, Ino," he began. "Choji can I talk to Ino alone for a moment."

"S-Sure," he said leaving the room.

He waited till Choji had shut the door. "I-Ino, I have something to tell you."

"M-Me too," she whispered.

"I-Ino I l-l…lo-love…you," he whispered.

"Sh-Shikamaru!" she sobbed, and hugged him. "I love you too," she sobbed into his chest.

"I-Ino," he whispered, hugging her back. "P-Please don't cry."

"S-Shika! Please don't die!" She shouted. He closed his eyes and slowly opened them.

"Good-bye, Ino" he said.

"SHIKAMARU!" she screamed. "No!" She broke down sobbing.

"Remember, Ino, I love you," he closed his eyes for the last time.

The door burst open and Asuma, Choji, Shika's parents, and a few other important people, stood there. They had heard Ino scream, and rushed in.

"Ino," Someone behind her began.

"Go away," he screamed as she ran out the door.

A few days later a funeral was held for Nara Shikamaru. Ino was there, and she cried throughout the whole thing.

_I should have told him sooner, instead of pretending to like Sasuke. It's all my fault! It's all my fault!'_

Three years later, a twenty year-old Yamanaka Ino, sat on her couch, listening to the radio.

_My tea's gone cold, I'm wondering why  
I got out of bed at all  
The morning rain clouds up my window  
and I can't see at all  
And even if I could it'd all be gray,  
but your picture on my wall  
It reminds me that it's not so bad,  
it's not so bad_

She looked over to the shelf next to her, on it was a picture of him. Her best friend, and only true love, Nara Shikamaru.

"Shika," she whispered.

_I drank too much last night, got bills to pay,  
my head just feels in pain  
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today,  
I'm late for work again  
And even if I'm there, they'll all imply  
that I might not last the day  
And then you call me and it's not so bad,  
it's not so bad and_

She listened to the words in the song. It was so pretty, and it made her feel so strange.

_I want to thank you  
for giving me the best day of my life  
Oh just to be with you  
is having the best day of my life_

She shut of the radio. It reminded her too much of him. Oh, how she'd give anything to see him once more, with that lazy smirk, always muttering about how everything was troublesome. She had hated it, but now that it was all gone, she wanted nothing more in the world.

She had never done too much after that incident. She had never dated again, nor had she gone on a mission any higher than C-ranked. Her friends worried about her. She didn't care, all she wanted was him.

She hardly left the house, and didn't really talk to anyone much. Tenten had been really busy being ANBU captain and Neji. Yes, they were a couple. Hinata was going out with Naruto, who had asked her out last year on Valentine's Day. Then there was Sakura. Sasuke had come back and they were currently going out. She was all alone.

It was Valentine's Day, three years after Nara Shikamaru had died. Haruno Sakura walked down to the cemetery, looking for her best friend, Ino. She new Ino would be here, because she was here every year, to visit his grave.

She approached the small monument and saw a crumpled figure next to it.

"Ino!" she called out. "Ino are you okay?"

As she neared the grave, she noticed the small puddle of dark red liquid staining the grass, all around Ino.

"I-Ino?" Sakura stuttered. "Ino, wake up!"

The blonde girl never moved.

"Oh my God!" Sakura screamed. Almost all of Konoha heard the ear-shattering, heart-stopping scream.

"Ino wake up now! This isn't funny!" she began to cry. Even though they had fought a lot, Ino was her best friend.

Ino was soon after rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her funeral was held a few days after. She was laid down next to him, the one she loved, the one she 'hated,' the one she died for.

* * *

Aoi: Hope you liked it! This idea has just been swiming around in my head for a long time, so...yeah.

All: REVIEW!

Gin: Feed the hungry authoress? point's to Aoi

Aoi: -.-uu


End file.
